Evaluating the Impact of Technology Assisted Hotspot Policing on Situational Awareness and Task-Load

Everyday field work of a police officer requires the perception, filtering and understanding of large amounts of information in highly dynamic situations. This presents opportunities for ICT to alleviate strain on officers by providing adequate information provisioning. We evaluate the usage of a mobile location-based hotspot policing system, comprised of a smartphone, smartwatch and a web-application, during real field work with officers in high and low hotspot density locations. We use a repeated measures design to compare possible effects with our baseline measure, i.e. field work without using the system. Usability, task-load and situational awareness (SA), as well as possible mediators, are evaluated to gain insight into the differences between modes of transportation and the overall viability of the system itself. No significant difference was found between the two locations. Officers using the system scored high on usability measures and interview feedback was largely positive. Measures on SA remained stable throughout baseline and experimental shifts. Task-load was significantly higher with the use of the system. The contradiction in these findings can be explained by showing the differences in the nature of field work with and without the system.